April Showers, May Flowers and Hayfever
by Strawwolf
Summary: Spring rolls around and Bellamy gets hayfever. He decides not to tell anyone and goes on an expedition while feeling horrible. Clarke ends up having to look after him.


Spring had come on like a storm with blowing winds and sharp rain, leaving a mess behind in its wake. Mud and broken branches littered the ground; the perimeter fence had been crushed in two places by fallen trees, forcing an increased guard presence both in and outside camp.

It also managed to cause no minor amount of grumbling from almost everyone. There were repairs to be made, clean-up crews to be assigned and double the workload, all with bad weather and freezing mornings to boot. Camp Jaha had better things to do and they couldn't exactly afford to lose any days before planting what they hoped would be their first harvest. But the weather wouldn't cooperate. Dark skies streaked with grey clouds left everyone unsettled and grumpy. This was **not** what they'd seen in vids. Spring was supposed to be full of sun and greenery, not this damp chunk of earth that filled with mist each morning, leaving everyone chilled and shivering.

One day in late April though it was as if the sun decided to defy the dull pattern everyone had settled into and pushed through the clouds. Bright rays broke the sky open, peeling back to that familiar blue so many had been missing in the last few months. Days and nights had heads turned to the heavens, gazing at the sun and stars and marvelling at the distance they'd come from orbit to earth.

And with the sun and rain came the green. Like a full sigh the trees were soon weighed down by leaves again and the undergrowth recovered from its dour brown state to a lush bounty full of plants and shrubs and flowers in all facets of colour.

Bright days came and went and with every passing week Clarke grew more anxious to leave camp and go hunting for medicinal herbs. She and Monty had been throwing ideas around about a greenhouse and both were anxious to get started. Fortunately when treaties are made it easily leads to trading.

Two months after the first sign of promised warmth Octavia came bounding into camp with Lincoln following close behind. They had come to exchange the last of the winter pelts and to visit. Abby, Clarke, Jackson and Lincoln spent an unnecessary amount of time in the lab trading information with Lincoln who promised to show them where he gathered his medicine from in exchange for a year's treatment from Camp Jaha should it be required by Lexa's people. Octavia had meant to sit in but she'd been gone too long and had too many people to see. Besides, she'd be going with them when Lincoln took them on the 'plant expedition'.

The next morning, amongst the mist and darkness a small but prepared group gathered at the gates. Lincoln, Octavia, Jackson, Clarke, two guards and Monty were checking and rechecking their gear in the early silence. No one else was awake save a lone figure that trudged towards them with purpose in their step. It was Bellamy, holding his gun as if it outweighed him. Octavia rolled her eyes and walked over to him.

Clarke frowned. She couldn't hear the conversation but they appeared to be in disagreement. Octavia laid her hand on his arm and he shrugged her off. She cocked her head to one side and put her hands on her hips before turning on her heel and stalking back to Lincoln, a frustrated look on her face. Bellamy simply sniffed and fell in beside Clarke, his usual spot whenever they both left camp together, fiddling with the shoulder strap on his gun as the gate opened.

"I didn't think you were coming with us."

He shot a look at Octavia who was ignoring him. "Just wanted to stretch my legs."

Clarke glanced at Lincoln and the two guards who were warily watching the trees despite the fact that the treaty had been in place for months now. It wasn't as if they were walking around unarmed in hostile territory. And yet Bellamy had decided to accompany them for what was essentially a chore. She watched as he stumbled over a tree root and cursed under his breath. His uncharacteristic clumsiness raised an eyebrow but when he offered no comment she shrugged it off. They'd all been pushing themselves pretty hard in the past few months in order to get ready for spring. It had meant sleepless nights, smaller rations and making do with mangled and broken supplies. A space inside the camp had been cleared and fenced for animals which they would trade for using pelts they'd gathered over the winter months as well as medicines gathered on trips like the one they were setting out on. In turn they would use the waste from the animals for crop fertilizer. Then they could get started on the aquifer system that Raven had been working on. Clarke smiled to herself at all the planning they'd done while huddled over fires trying to keep warm. Winter had not been a fun experience but soon they would be able to put their plans in motion and hopefully reap the rewards.

As the group pushed further into the forest and away from familiar territory they stretched out into a long line with Octavia in front followed by Lincoln and Monty who were deep in conversation about plants that could be diffused in water. Bellamy had fallen back to trail behind everyone leaving Clarke to walk next to Jackson who still marveled at everything like a newborn. He was constantly making comments and asking questions that Clarke had no answer to. It was actually starting to grate on her. He'd insisted on coming as Abby was too valuable to leave camp for such a small mission. He thought at least one of them should start to become familiar with local plant life if they were going to keep treating patients with their ever-diminishing medical supplies from the Ark.

"How many tree species do you think grow around here? I mean they look pretty tall. Your mom said we're going to start making houses out of wood, can you imagine? I mean I don't think they'd be very warm, do you?" He babbled on for minutes at a time, never giving her space to answer. Not that it mattered anyway, his head was to the sky and he wasn't even paying attention to where he was walking half the time.

Finding an easy escape route Clarke dropped back behind him to walk with Bellamy who had taken to guarding everyone's back. He was quiet, leaving his boots to do most of the talking though he occasionally sniffled. Clarke smiled, almost sighing. This was much better than trying to block out Jackson's drone. And she didn't feel the need to keep up the pretence of conversation. Back at the Dropship they'd been all business and here it was the same. Quick glances at his face though showed he wasn't faring well, his face drawn and pale. And there was that sniffle again! Clarke quickly thought back to their interactions over the past few days and connected his ragged appearance with Octavia's seeming annoyance at his decision to tag along.

_Typical. He doesn't tell me when he's sick and decides to put himself through hell by coming with us on a day hike._

He noticed her glaring and frowned in her general direction. "What?"

"Nothing."

Clarke decided that Bellamy Blake was an idiot. And he could just suffer if he wasn't willing to ask for help. She wasn't entirely without feeling though and decided to keep a closer eye on him for the rest of their hike.

oooooooooo00000000ooooooooooo

Maybe it was a dumb idea. He'd been feeling off for more than a week now with a runny nose and watery eyes and sneezing whenever he went outside. But he wasn't falling over or vomiting and they'd all been working hard. He could handle it until everything settled down. It wasn't as if they could spare the medicine anyway.

He'd originally been pleased to see Octavia right up until she told him why she was visiting. He wasn't about to let her leave camp without him. He didn't actually like the idea of any of his people leaving camp without him despite the treaty. There was always the chance that something would go wrong and he planned to be there if it did. He didn't need or want any more guilt than he was already carrying. The 100 had suffered enough and given enough to hopefully be afforded a small amount of peace. But if he had to fight to get it, he would. They'd earned it. Through scars and nightmares and dead friends.

Of course this had all been decided in the early hours of the morning. Everything was a little fuzzy and he got winded just walking to the other side of camp but that hadn't stopped him from stumbling out of his tent at the appointed hour and heading towards the front gate. It also hadn't stopped Octavia from trying to run his life.

"Bell you're sick. Go back to bed."

"I can stand on my own and I'm not bleeding. I'm coming with you."

Knowing there was no dealing with him she threw up her hands and spent the rest of the trip avoiding him, as if she believed her silence was some sort of punishment. If only that tactic had worked on the Ark.

The sun burned off the morning mist and the day grew warm enough that everyone unzipped their heavy jackets. For a few miles they followed a stream before ducking off on what Lincoln said was a series of deer trails. And everywhere they were surrounded by birdsong and plant life with a steady glare of sunlight beating through the foliage. Bellamy had fallen back, presumably to act as guard but truly he was just trying to catch his breath. The terrain was rougher the farther they traveled from camp and he was doing his best not to fall on his face. And then Clarke had joined him. He wouldn't have minded so much if he hadn't felt so terrible. It was like old times. The two of them walking side by side and they didn't even need to talk. It just felt…comfortable.

Of course in this case he had to control his breathing and try to look halfway competent because Clarke was an expert at calling people on their bullshit when it came to illness. And he was sure she was onto him because she kept looking over, brow furrowed but silent. But then every so often she would hold her arm out and brush her hand along a nearby bush, rubbing the leaves between her fingers, smiling to herself as they walked along. At some point he even caught himself grinning as he watched her pause and crouch down to look at random plants. He knew how anxious she'd been to get out of camp, away from her mother and the rest of the adults. Winter had been a slog and no one apart from hunting parties had been allowed to go outside the fence. Miller had told him it was like being locked up again, except this time you were stuck with your parents ordering you around. He didn't tell Miller that he'd have given anything for his mom to boss him around though he wasn't sure what she would have made of Earth.

oooooooooo0000000oooooooooo

Four hours into their hike they came up to a break in the trees beyond which Clarke could see a meadow. Lincoln motioned for them to keep quiet and slowly crept forward, keeping his profile low as he emerged out into the open. The rest followed his lead, crouching in the damp grass, soaking their knees. About two hundred yards off a herd of deer were casually tearing up the grass for breakfast.

Before they could get a closer look though, a loud sneeze ripped across the meadow destroying the silence that had settled in, startling the animals. Their heads snapped up as one and turned in the direction of the sound. In a moment they were off, bounding away to the safety of the woods, their hooves pounding on the cold earth. As a group everyone looked to the offender. Bellamy was staring at the ground before he wiped his nose on his sleeve and stood.

"We don't have time to waste if we want to get back before dark." He stalked off without leaving room for protest.

Clarke frowned and looked over at Octavia as if she could somehow talk some sense into him. But the one apparently sane Blake just shook her head and stood up. Clarke narrowed her eyes and glared at Bellamy's back as he walked away from them.

The rest of the hike went as expected with Lincoln showing Clarke, Jackson, Monty and Octavia a variety of herbs and plants, pointing out their uses and marking their locations on a crude map Clarke was drawing of the area. They raced each other to see who could harvest the most, laughing and teasing each other. For a moment things felt right: the shared camaraderie; the smiles; the playful banter. It stood out amongst other memories in the woods because it was being shared. Grounders, Sky People and the 100 working together and snickering.

Bellamy however only became grumpier and more withdrawn, taking his time to lean against trees or sit down whenever possible. The guards kept throwing him dirty looks for not pulling his weight but eight hours into their day hike he couldn't have cared less. By the time they were on their way back he was sneezing up a storm and falling further and further behind. When they finally entered the gates he headed straight off to his tent without a word to anyone. Not half an hour later though Clarke brushed aside his tent flap, carrying a bowl of steaming liquid.

He was lying on top of his bed, skin flushed, nose running, eyes closed. He didn't even have to look to know who it was. No one else would have entered his tent without permission apart from Octavia. And she was noisy.

"Go away."

Clarke ignored him and plopped down on his bed.

"Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

He didn't speak and she didn't move. After a long silence he sighed in frustration at her stubbornness and inability to just leave things alone, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of his bed to sit next to her.

"It's not like I have an open wound Clarke."

She rolled her eyes. "Then why not stay in camp? You probably just made things worse by coming with us."

Bellamy glared at her, although he couldn't have looked less menacing with his constant sniffling.

"Someone has to watch your back Princess."

"And how are you gonna watch my back if you're sick? Here." She shoved the soup into his hands. "You need to stay hydrated."

Eying the concoction warily he slowly picked up a spoon. The first taste nearly burned the roof of his mouth. The second revealed the caustic taste and left him gagging on the sharp bitterness. He nearly dropped the whole steaming bowl in his lap which would have cause a whole host of other problems.

"Uch, what is this poison?"

The look on Clarke's face was priceless. She looked both confused and offended.

"It's supposed to make you feel better. Does it really taste that bad? I followed the recipe…" She mumbled, staring down at the traitorous soup as if it was entirely responsible for everything.

"Well you're a terrible cook." He just couldn't resist telling the princess that she wasn't perfect at something. It might have been somewhat sadistic but she was the one who'd interrupted his beauty sleep. Besides, she could do with a little teasing after all the stress she'd been under in the past few months, patching up injuries, worrying about depleting medical supplies, mapping out the area and dealing with her mom being the Chancellor.

"Hey!" She smacked his arm. "I made it for you. So you could feel better."

He grinned at her fake anger, ducking his head back down to the soup. It really didn't look that appealing being the colour of dirt. The smell wasn't too bad but it was the taste that really made him shudder.

"Look if you don't want it I'll just go ask Jasper and see if he wants it. He'll eat anything." She leaned over to take the bowl but Bellamy pulled it out of her reach.

Grimacing he dipped the spoon back into the morass and swallowed another mouthful, trying to down the concoction as fast as possible without burning away all sensation in his mouth, though that might have been best considering the taste.

Clarke raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said it was poison?"

"Yeah but you made it for me," he said between mouthfuls. "Plus I've got to stay hydrated right?"

And Clarke couldn't help but smile because Bellamy Blake was an idiot.

After he finished what he now termed 'Poison Soup' they chatted about plans for the aquifer and how in the summer they wanted to mount a major expedition to the sea. It was only when she noticed Bellamy starting to flag that she stood.

"Tell you what I promise I won't make you any more soup if you promise to stay in bed for at least a day."

Bellamy shook his head as he lay back on his bed. "There's too much to do. The fence still isn't up and working. Kane's going to send a patrol tomorrow to salvage parts from Factory Station. Half a day."

Clarke crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Only if you take a nap in the afternoon."

He kicked off his shoes and held his hands up in surrender. "Fine!" He closed his eyes and rolled under his blankets, hoping that was the end of the conversation. He didn't want to make any more concessions and frankly he didn't have the energy to argue with her anymore. At least, not tonight.

She stood by his doorway for a long while, waiting and watching as his breathing evened out before she stooped down and picked up the bowl that he'd scraped clean. Before walking out though she turned back.

"If you're watching my back, who's going to watch yours?" She whispered, not expecting a response from the figure sleeping on the bed. She already knew the answer.


End file.
